HARPER NAMES BAIRD ENVIRONMENT MINISTER; HOPES FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 000050 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA, OES, EB AND INR WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ EPA FOR OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DOE FOR POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL PARIS ALSO FOR USOECD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ENRG PGOV PINR CA SUBJECT: HARPER NAMES BAIRD ENVIRONMENT MINISTER; HOPES FOR TORY EVIRONMENTAL RENAISSANCE REF: A. 07 OTTAWA 013 ¶B. 06 OTTAWA 3561 ¶C. 06 OTTAWA 3423 AND PREVIOUS Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment: The most noteworthy change in PM Harper's January 4 cabinet re-shuffle in preparation for a probable election later this year saw the oft-criticized Rona Ambrose depart Environment Canada for the much less sensitive Intergovernmental Affairs portfolio. Her replacement is John Baird, most recently president of the Treasury Board. Harper may have felt a change was due because of a growing recognition the Conservatives underestimated the importance of climate change to Canadian voters, the conventional wisdom that the Tories are weak on the environment, and Liberal leader (and former Liberal environment minister) Stephane Dion's announced intent to make climate change a key issue in the coming national election campaign. Observers believe Baird was the choice to take charge of the environment portfolio because of his own success in defending government policy in Commons. ¶2. (SBU) While the Conservative environmental program takes a far different approach than that Dion and the Liberals espoused before their fall from power a year ago, the Tories have pursued with some degree of ingenuity a program that has significant similarities with U.S. approaches. They just have done a terrible job of selling it to the electorate. Ambrose, of course, bears responsibility for that, even though the PM has increasingly played the role of chief spokesman on the environment. Baird's chief roles must be to defend Conservative environmental plans against Liberal attacks while promoting their "greenness" with the public. He has apparently impressed the PM with his abilities on the former, and he will have plenty of opportunity to display them when Dion makes the environment a key issue in the campaign. Baird may be less suited to explaining the benefits of the Tory environmental plan to the voters, but he will have proved the worth of Harper's re-shuffle if he can blunt forthcoming Liberal charges that the Tories have mishandled their stewardship of the environment. Membership for Canada in the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate may help the Harper government pursue its climate change goals more effectively. The USG might consider stronger advocacy for Canada's membership in APP. End Summary and Comment. ¶3. (SBU) Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet on January 4 (ref A),ostensibly to better prepare for the coming election campaign. While a total of 13 Tory stalwarts was involved in the re-shuffle or named new junior ministers, it is clear that Harper's major focus was squarely on the environment, a file where the Tories have suffered considerable criticism since the introduction in October of the draft Clean Air Act, the supposed centerpiece of their environmental program (ref C). Headlining the re-shuffle was the move of former Treasury Board (a cabinet committee responsible for the management of government expenditure and human resources in the public service) president John Baird to Environment Canada. Rona Ambrose, Harper's first environment minister, was shifted - QAmbrose, Harper's first environment minister, was shifted - though most would say demoted - to minister in charge of intergovernmental affairs and given concurrent responsibilities for managing "Western economic diversification." Ambrose's ouster had been widely and wildly rumored for weeks, and morning-after press reporting headlined Harper's "green revolution," all but ignoring the wider re-shuffle. Who is Riding to the Rescue on the Environment File? -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Within an hour of the swearing in ceremony, Environment Canada staffers were sending around Baird's bio (so hasty were they that the bio did not even include the new minister's election to the House of Commons in January 2006 OTTAWA 00000050 002 OF 005 or his leadership at Treasury Board),which makes clear the bulk of his working life has been spent in elective politics. Baird's rise, as pointed out in front page stories in major newspapers, has been rapid, if not meteoric, taking him from a freshly elected member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament in June 1995 to federal MP in 2006 and by early 2007 to minister in charge of a portfolio that figures to be at the very center of the upcoming federal election campaign. His bio lists a range of political responsibilities, from Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services (1999-2002) and Ontario Minister of Energy (2002-2003) to opposition critic on several files, but no apparent previous experience directly on the environment. ¶5. (SBU) He also had the opportunity to polish his parliamentary management skills as deputy leader, party whip, and opposition leader in the Ontario Legislature. In Harper's eyes, these skills, and Baird's reported strong friendship with the PM, may represent more important qualifications for the environment job than his management and substantive experience as a minister in the Ontario provincial government. Why the Change? -------------- ¶6. (SBU) A range of factors certainly contributed to PM Harper's decision to replace Ambrose, but the constant drumbeat of criticism in the press and from the political opposition over Kyoto and the Conservatives' alleged weakness on the environment, along with several well-publicized Ambrose gaffs, must have topped the list. The scant attention the Harper government paid to the environment in its early months - highlighted in the public eye by Rona Ambrose's May announcement at a UN climate change meeting in Bonn that Canada would not meet its Kyoto Protocol commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels - was consistent with the priorities stressed in the campaign, but it also reflected a clear underestimation of the importance paid to the environment by the population at large. The Conservative's campaign platform presented a bare-bones environmental agenda, failing to mention Kyoto, and as late as April 2006, the environment received almost no mention in the government's Throne Speech laying out its broad legislative agenda. (In just one sentence buried near the end and without elaboration, the Harper government promised, "(i)t will take measures to achieve tangible improvements in our environment, including reductions in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions." This in contrast to the detail devoted in both the campaign platform and the Throne Speech to Harper's chief priorities of government accountability, a stronger posture against crime, and family-friendly initiatives such as lower taxes, better health care, and greater support for child care.) ¶7. (SBU) By mid-spring, however, Rona Ambrose was already telling domestic and international audiences that "the Kyoto target is seriously flawed and that the emissions targets it imposes on Canada are unrealistic and unattainable." The Liberals, she went on, had been misguided and acted too hastily in setting it. Her announcement attracted considerable attention, particularly among the opposition. Yet it was not until the late October tabling of the Clean QYet it was not until the late October tabling of the Clean Air Act, the centerpiece of the Conservative environmental plan, that the uproar seemingly became impossible to ignore. Stung by the uproar, Harper changed tack and was claiming (by mid-December) the environment would be a Conservative priority in 2007. At the very center of the public outcry were Kyoto and the long timeframes (to 2050) within which the Conservatives committed to achieve emissions reductions. (Note: The constant reference by the Liberals, the NDP and others back to Kyoto has taken on the character of a "mantra." A thorough assessment of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by the Office of the Auditor General's Environment Commissioner last September concluded that emissions were already 36 percent above the target as of 2004. Clearly the Liberal record on climate change is not as good as its OTTAWA 00000050 003 OF 005 supporters have made it out to be. End note.) ¶8. (SBU) Opposition criticism was predictable, and opinion polls revealed the extent of public dissatisfaction. By late summer, polls were concluding the environment had leapt ahead of health care as the issue that most concerned Canadians, and more recent polls reveal an electorate not convinced that either party would do a good job on climate change. Polls in December, for example, show between 65 and 75 percent of Canadians think the government is doing a poor job on climate change. Whether this dissatisfaction was driven by criticism from politicians and some of Canada's prominent environmentalists, by Ambrose's failure to convince an already skeptical public, or by this winter's abnormally warm weather in much of Canada is immaterial. At the heart of the matter the Conservatives were perceived as weak on the environment, and Ambrose proved incapable of turning around that perception. ¶9. (SBU) Stephane Dion's December selection as federal Liberal Party leader also put pressure on the Prime Minister to revamp his environment lineup. From the beginning of the Liberal leadership campaign, Dion, his party's environment minister going into the January 2006 national election and chair of the UNFCCC COP-11/MOP-1 in Montreal in November 2005, had made the environment a key, if not the leading, element of his campaign platform (ref B). And Dion's continuing criticism of the Conservative environmental record seems hardly likely to let up, given public perceptions. In the run up to and during a national election campaign (which most observers still think is likely later this spring),it would be important in Harper's eyes to have a minister of the environment adept at parliamentary in-fighting, one of Baird's acknowledged strengths. Ambrose, on the other hand, had the reputation for misspeaking and contradicting herself in parliamentary hearings and elsewhere. Press commentary, in fact, has described the Baird appointment in exactly such terms: his goal in the period before the election, according to some, is to "neutralize" the Liberals on the environment. ¶10. (SBU) Finally, Harper just may have backed himself into a corner on the portfolio. When rumors of a cabinet re-shuffle to replace Ambrose began in earnest before the Christmas holidays, the Prime Minister did little to deny them or to defend the embattled environment minister. The more widespread the rumors, the more difficult it became for Harper to make the case the environment was a top priority. He had to make the move if the Conservatives were to have any chance of recapturing the environmental high ground from the Liberals. (Even several days after the January 4 re-shuffle, much press and opposition commentary still doubts that Harper truly has "got it" when it comes to climate change and the environment.) What Went Wrong? -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Observers (including Liberal environment critic John Godfrey) don't put all the blame for Ambrose's lackluster performance on her alone, noting that Harper had given her a relatively short leash and suggesting she did the best she could under the circumstances. There is certainly some truth to this observation, at least to the extent that Qsome truth to this observation, at least to the extent that the Prime Minister was heavily involved in the public presentation of the environmental agenda. He was, for example, front and center for the rollout of the draft Clean Air Act and for a new Chemicals Management Plan, another piece of the Tory environmental platform. And, bureaucratic contacts in several ministries told Embassy in advance of the release of the Clean Air Act that both the strategy and the process were being tightly controlled by the Prime Minister's office. ¶12. (SBU) These same contacts also told Embassy officers that elements of the overall environmental program would be released individually, beginning with the centerpiece Clean Air Act, which they planned to bill largely as health-related OTTAWA 00000050 004 OF 005 because of its focus on pollutants (jointly with greenhouse gases),perhaps because the government did not want to compete with the Liberals directly and only on climate change. In fact, according to press reporting in the past several days, the government's public strategy was in trouble before it ever got off the ground. According to these reports, the government engaged a consulting firm to develop logos and slogans for a "Green Plan" (echoing the 1990 "Green Plan for a Healthy Environment" of former Conservative PM Brian Mulroney, who in 2005 was named Canada's "greenest prime minister" by an environmental magazine) but they were discarded during the summer because of poor reactions in focus group testing. To complicate matters, Ambrose's message on the Clean Air Act's public health benefits was lost when it was introduced because of immediate charges by the Liberals and the New Democratic Party that the plan's longer timeframes for hard targets on greenhouse gases amounted to a retreat on climate change. Her message was also the victim of a parliamentary and media uproar over comments derogatory to another MP allegedly made by Foreign Minister Peter McKay. Are the Tories Weak on the Environment? -------------- ¶13. (U) Conventional wisdom - as borne out by numerous polls - holds that the Conservatives are weak on the environment, but this seems largely an artifact of the Kyoto debate. With Rona Ambrose in charge of the environment file, the Harper government in fact has doggedly pursued the (admittedly) few specific items on the environment laid out in its original campaign platform. The five specific items in the platform are legislating reductions in air pollutants (Clean Air Act introduced in October); addressing greenhouse gas emissions through new technologies and in consultation with provinces (Clean Air Act introduced; consultations on-going); ensuring water quality, cleaning up contaminated sites; and requiring 5 percent renewable content in fuels by 2010 (announced in December). Moreover, dispassionate observers, including bureaucratic officials, some in business and industry, and even some environmentalists give the Clean Air Act and the Chemicals Management Plan more credit than does the public. According to its campaign platform on the environment, then, the Tories are making progress; there is just no mention of Kyoto. ¶14. (SBU) But the way ahead on the environment for the Conservatives is uncertain. The centerpiece of their program, the Clean Air Act, has been referred for revision to an ad hoc parliamentary drafting committee, where the Tories are not in the majority, and it is impossible to predict how much of their original act will be retained (ref C). The drafting committee has been named, but it has yet to meet, and there is no timeline for it to complete the redraft of the draft Act. At the same time, two competing private member's bills are still on the table. Political observers have speculated in the past couple of days that the Conservatives could be open to dealing on the environment with Jack Layton's NDP for support in the House (with the crossover to the Conservatives of a Liberal MP on January 5, Qcrossover to the Conservatives of a Liberal MP on January 5, a Conservative-NDP alliance could prevent an election). While Conservative cooperation with the NDP is not out of the question, Layton said in an interview on January 8 that he was not prepared to give in to the government on Kyoto. Theoretically his implied threat to bring down the government over climate change remains on the table. ¶15. (SBU) The policies and degrees of freedom new environment minister John Baird will have are also uncertain, of course, and contacts at Environment Canada are still in the process of getting him up to speed. They do say he is "experienced" from his days running Ontario provincial ministries and that he appointment is an indication of how seriously Harper now regards the environment file. We would not be surprised to see some minor movement toward Liberal positions on climate change policy, perhaps in advancing the current generous timelines for absolute reductions in emissions, depending on OTTAWA 00000050 005 OF 005 how successful Baird proves to be in "neutralizing" the Liberals. On the other hand, we would be surprised to see a significant shift with respect to Kyoto. An unrepentant Stephen Harper told a television interviewer on January 7 that while he accepted the science, addressing climate change was a long-term challenge. In 2012, Canada was going to be 50 percent over its Kyoto commitment, the PM claimed, and he didn't see any easy - or quick - solution. Whither Rona -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Rona Ambrose will take over the less sensitive intergovernmental affairs portfolio, and she will have concurrent responsibilities for Western economic diversification and to preside over the Queen's Privy Council. The intergovernmental affairs ministry, the more important of her new responsibilities, is in actuality a unit of the Privy Council Office, and supports the minister and cabinet on policy and communications related to federal-provincial-territorial relations, the evolution of the federation, and Canadian unity. Observers consider her new assignment a demotion, but she is undoubtedly better suited for it (from previous experience as opposition critic on the file and from similar responsibilities for the Alberta provincial government). Moving Forward on the Environment -------------- ¶17. (SBU) After the re-shuffle PM Harper gave Ambrose an endorsement tempered by acknowledgement the Tories had misjudged the public mood on the environment when he said, "...a lot more was done by Minister Ambrose in one year than by the previous government in 12. But we recognize, particularly when it comes to clean air and climate change, that Canadians expect a lot more." The several initiatives begun under Ambrose's reign at Environment Canada, especially the Clean Air Act, were important beginnings and do have considerable potential to improve many facets of the environment in Canada, but the degree to which that potential can be realized must depend on the skill of John Baird on the floor of Commons and in the court of public opinion, where his chief opponent is likely none other than Liberal leader Stephane Dion. For his part, Baird is not tipping his hand on possible differences on policy, strategy or tactics, saying only that he is enthusiastic about his new responsibilities and that his first order of business will be getting "briefed up" by his staff and other Canadian environmental stakeholders. ¶18. (SBU) The approaches towards the environment taken by Stephen Harper and Rona Ambrose are much closer to ours than those of Paul Martin's Liberal government, and the USG has worked more closely with Canada on climate change and other environmental issues during Ambrose's tenure at Environment Canada. Canadian officials have expressed their strong interest in joining the Asia Pacific Partnership for Clean Development, and full Canadian participation would reinforce approaches the Harper government has taken that are in line with ours, as well as provide additional impetus to the APP itself. As we understand the present situation, the USG has advised Canada that we fully support their interest in APP. Perhaps stronger advocacy by the United States on behalf of QPerhaps stronger advocacy by the United States on behalf of the Canadian interest would lead to early APP membership and help the Harper government demonstrate the value of close cooperation with the U.S. and other major economies and the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in fostering new and practical technologies to address climate change, and at the same time help resist the pressure to return to a commitment to meet Kyoto targets. Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS